Terminal board arrangement for selective interconnection



Sept. 13, 1960 M. P. DoRlzzl TERMINAL BOARD ARRANGEMENT FOR SELECTIVEINTERCONNECTION Filed April 3, 1957 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Bfs @y fw -4- 52'sJrs,

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Sept. 1'3, 196B M. P. DoRlzzl TERMINAL BOARD ARRANGEMENT FOR SELECTIVEINTERCONNECTION Filed April 5. 1957 2 Sheets-Shea?I 2 lk0en+of HanredPros g per Dorzz ,M412 s. su@

United States Patent Q F TERMINAL BOARD ARRANGElVIENT FOR SELECTIVEINTERCONNECTION Manfred Prosper Dorizzi, Zurich, Switzerland, assignorto Contraves AG, Zurich, Switzerland Filed Apr. 3, 1957, Ser. No.650,377

Claims priority, application Switzerland Apr. 4, 1956 Claims. (Cl.339-18) The present invention relates toa terminal board arrangement.More particularly, the present invention relates to a method of making aterminal board arrangement and a terminal board arrangement forpermitting various interconnections to be made between a large pluralityof conductive'members.

In many types of apparatus constructed today it is necessary andadvantageous to be able to make a large variety of changes in theelectrical connections of the apparatus. For example, in diiferent typesof electronic computing machines it is necessary to make a largenumber-of changes in the connections between the various elements ofthemachine each time that a new problem is set up for the machine. It isalso clear that equipment such as amplifiers, filters, measuringdevices, control and regulator units, all of which are used for avariety of purposes, require connections which can be easily varied andinterchanged.

4In conventional apparatus of this rtype various selector switcheshaving a plurality of stages are used or else large bays of sockets arearranged for connections to the units. The selector switches are quiteexpensive and requirea great degree of maintenance dueto the likelihoodof breakdown at the moving contacts. The use of large numbers of socketsfor making connections leads to a large maze of cables and wiring whichresults in a great deal of errors and the necessity `for constantchecking of the connections. l

'On the other hand, the present invention permits a large variety ofdifferent connections to be made while eliminating any requirement forlong connecting cables or for selector switches` p It is accordingly anobject `of vthe present yinvention to overcome the disadvantages of theprior art described hereinabove.

A second object `of the present invention is to provide a new andimproved terminal board arrangement.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a new and improvedterminal board arrangement wherein a large number of differentelectrical connections can be made by inserting shorting plugs inspecified positions of the terminal board. 4

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a new andimproved terminal board arrangement including a plurality of crossingconnecting members which cross at openings in the terminal board andthereby permit the same to be connected to each other.

With the above objects in View, the present invention mainly consistsofa terminal board arrangement including a base member made of anelectrically insulating material and being formed with a plurality ofopenings therein, at least a first electrically conductive elongatedconnecting member arranged in the base member and eX- tending in a firstdirection, the connecting member having a plurality of spaced connectingelements, each of which communicates respectively with at least one ofthe openings of the base member, and at least a second Patented Sept.13, .1960

electrically conductive elongated connecting member arranged in the basemember, extending in a second direction, and crossing the firstconnecting member without contacting the same, the second electricallyconductive member having a plurality of spaced connecting elements, eachof which communicates respectively with at least one of the openings ofthe base member, whereby connecting elements of the first and secondconnecting members communicate with the same opening of the terminalboard where the connecting members cross each other so that the rst andsecond connecting members can be electrically connected to each other atthe same opening.

. A preferred method for carrying out the present invention includes thesteps of inserting groups of electrically conductive plates in a castingmold, the plates crossing each other, maintaining the electricallyconductive plates electrically insulated from each other, insertingmolding core elements between the electrically conductive plateswherever the same cross each other, and lling the casting mold withsoliditiable electrically insulating material in a owable form so thatupon hardening of the solidiiable material and removal of the moldingcore elements, a terminal board is produced having openings wherein theconductive plates may be electrically connected to each other.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the terminal boardarrangement includes a plurality of separate units each of the uni-tsincluding openings permitting the interconnection between electricalplatesV thereof. In addition, each unit contains terminals which Lappended claims.

are internally connected to the conducting members arranged in the otherunits. 4

' The novel features which are considered as characteristic for theinvention are set forth in particular in the The invention itself,however, both as to its construction and its method of operation,together with additional lobjects `and advantages thereof, will be bestunderstood from the following description of specific embodiments whenread in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig.4 l is al front elevational view of a terminal board arrangementconstructed in accordance with the principles of the present invention;K

Fig. 2 is a transverse sectional view taken along line f I1-n of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a` sectional view taken along the line Ill- III of Fig. 1;

i Fig. 4 is a diagrammatic view partly in section show-v in g aconnecting plug used with the terminal board arrangement; v Fig. 5 is aperspective diagrammatic representation showing the constructionalelements of the conductive,

members of the terminal board arrangement; and

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of a molding core element u sed for makingthe terminal board arrangement.

Referring to the drawings and more particularly toV Figs. l, 2 and 3 itcan be seenthat the terminal` board includes three terminal board unitsA1, A2 and A3. .The

terminal board A which includes the above three units isV made ofelectrically insulating Vmaterial such asa synthetic resin, `forexample. The` units A1,. A2 and A3 ofV Yposite to the elements 111.

connecting elements 110. The elements 110 extend in a directiontransverse to the direction in which the elee ments B are elongated.Each of the elements B therefore forms a comb-like member.A Y

I'n Fig. 5 is `can also be seen that the members C are arrangedtransverse to the members B and accordingly cross over these members.Each 'of the members C is formed with a plurality of connecting elements111 which extend in a first direction transverse to the direction ofelongation of the members -B and a plurality of second spaced velements112 which extend in the direction opcomb-like effect foreach of themembers C.

In Fig. 5 an intersection between theelementB and the element C in thecentral unit is shown. It can be seen that the spacing between theelements 112 permit the members C to cross the memberspB withoutcontacting the same so that 'the members B ,and C can remainelectrically insulated from each other as they are supported in theterminal board arrangement.

Referring again to Figs. 1-3, it is apparent that in units A1 sixmembers C are arranged, including the members C41-C46. These memberseach extend in the horizontal direction so that the finger-likeconnecting elements 111 thereof communicate With the series ofhorizontal holes D in the unitrAl. That is, it can be-seen that in theunit All, the member C41, for example, includes elements 111 whichcommunicate with two separate openings D in the terminal board unit.These elements 111 are spaced so asV to be on opposite sides withrespect to the axis of the opening in the terminal board unit.

Similarly, the terminal board unit A1 includes six B membersrespectively .identified vas members B11-B16. These members extend in adirection transverse to the C members and have the finger-likeconnecting elements 110 thereof communicating with the D openings in theUnit A1; municate with adjacent openings D in a manner similar to themembers C.

It is clear that Ywith the above arrangement, the B and C members crosseach other in the A1 unit without contacting each other. Also, each timethat a B member crosses a C member, the crossing occurs at an opening Din the terminal board. For example the member B11,

crosses the member C41 at the opening D which is the upper left handopening of the terminal board in the view shown in Fig. 1. Similarly,the member `B11 crosses the member C46 at the lowermost left handopening D of the unit A1. It is therefore possible to make an electricalconnection between any one of the members C41'- C46 and the membersB11-16 by inserting in the corresponding opening of the terminal board,an electrical connccting member. Such a member is shown in Fig. 4. Thisplug member G is formed with-a resilient electrically conductivecontacting portion G1 and an electrically insulating handle portion G2.

If the plug G is inserted in any one of the D openings in the unit A1,an electrical connection is immediately made between the Band C memberswhich cross at the respective opening. For example in Fig.y 1, a plug Gis shown inserted in the openings corresponding to the positions Wherethe member B12 crosses the members C43 and C45, respectively. -It istherefore apparent that, for the illustrated example, the member B12 isconnected to both the C43 member and the C45 member.

Similarly, the unit'A2 is provided with six B members, B214B26 and six Cmembers, CS1-C56; the A3 unit include: six B members, BSI-B36 and six Cmembers,Y

C61-C66. I Y

In the A2 unit, thevplug G is inserted at the opening wherein the memberB23 crosses the member C53 and in the A3 unit, the plug G is inserted atthe opening wherein the member B34 crosses the member C61.

VAccordingly,-with the invention as embodied in the arrangement shown inFig. 1, it is possible to obtain an The elements 110 of the B memberscom-V by a cursoryf'study of the terminal board, which of the Thisprovides a doubled' conducting members are connected to each other.

The embodiments shown in Figs. 1, 2 'and 3 also have some additionalfeatures. It can be seen that in the unit A1, for example, theconductive memberV C41 actually communicates with eight differentopenings in the terminal board. The first six openings, identified as Dopenings, correspond to the crossing points with the members B11-B16.The next Vtwo openings which are actually shown with plugged inserts inFig. l, identified asvE openings, do not provide any 'connection withany of the B members ranged in the unit A1. Rather, the purpose of thesetwo additional holes for the C member C41 is to permit this C member tobe connected to any of the other C members, if desired. For thispurpose, a cable connector such as shown partially in Fig. 2 is providedhaving a plug at one end 'similar to the G plug illustrated in Fig. 4but the pin portion G1 of the G plug being connected to a cable and theother end of the cable having a similar plug.

Therefore, in Fig. 1in the unit A1, the unit C41 is shown connected tothe member C42 by means of two G plugs connected in the E openings of'the terminal board, the plugs being connected by means of the cable K1.The E openings in the terminal board are the openings which correspondonly to one of the members in the unit. This can be seen in the Eopenings C51 of the unit A2, for example.

Therefore, with the embodiment thus far described itis not only possibleto make connections between the crossing members B and C, as desired,but also to make connections between the C members by the use of twoplugs and a very short cable length therebetween. It is clear thatsuch ashort cable length is not objectionable since it does not cover any ofthe pins or holes to obscure from view the exact connections of theterminal board arrangement.

An additional feature of the illustrated embodiment is the use of the Fsockets. The F sockets, for the illustrated embodiment, are 1,2 socketsarranged in two rows of six each in each of the units A1, A2 and A3. Twosuch F sockets, F22 and F32 can be seen in the cross sectional view ofFig. 2, for example. Each of the F sockets or terminals, is arranged inone unit and is connected electrically to a yB member of another'unit.Dotted lines are shown in Fig. l to indicate the electrical connectionbetween the units and the F sockets. For example, :the unit F26 which isthe lowermost F socket at the left-hand size is electrically connectedto the member B26 in the unit A2 and solely to this member. Similarly,lthe F member F22 is connected to the B member B22 of the unit A2 andsolely to this member. This is shown in Fig. 2, wherein a conductor x1connects Ithe F member F22 to the B vmember B22. The conductor x1comprises any suitable electrical conductor and may be supported in orbehind the molded terminal board A in any suitable manner known in theart. Similarly, the F member F35 is connected to the B member B35 of theunit A3 and solely to this B member. Accordingly, in the A1 unit, thetwo columns of F sockets correspond respectively to the members B21-B26,at the left hand column and the members B31-B36 in the right handcolumn. In Fig. l, in the unit A1, the member C41 is shown connected tothe socket F23 by means of two G plugs and a cable K2. Such a connectionclearly lconnects the Vmember C41 to the member B23 of the unit A2.

Also shown in the unit A1 of Fig. 1 is the connection assenza Y betweenthe member C46 and the socket F35 by means of the cable K3. The socketF35 clearly s connected to the member B35 of the unit A3 so that themember C46 is electrically connected to the member lB35 of unit A3 bythe illustrated connection.

It is therefore apparent that with the distribution of the F sockets asshown in the units A1, A2 and A3, it is possible for any one of themembers in any one of the units to be connected to any one of themembers in any one of the other units. It is apparent that thisarrangement takes place of a grid pattern which would include 18 columnsand 18 rows or a total of 324 individual connections on the terminalboard. In place of such a large terminal board, the terminal boardarrangement of the present invention utilizes a total of 144 openings inthe terminal board arrangement. Yet, with these 144 openings it ispossible to make any one of the desired connections between the 18 'Bmembers and the 18 C members or among the B or C members themselves. Inthis respect it should be noted that it is possible to connect B11 toB12, for example, by connecting the corresponding F sockets in the Aunits or the A3 units together.

It is clear that the arrangement shown in Figs. l, 2 and 3 provides aterminal board arrangement wherein the openings for plugging in theplugs G are provided with four different radially inwardly projectingelements, each of which are displaced 90 from each other in theillustrative example. Two of these elements are the elements 111 of theC member and the other two are the elements 110 of the B member.Therefore when the resilient portion G1 of the G plug is inserted in theD opening corresponding to the proper crossing point of the B and lCmembers, a positive electrical connection is made between these memberssince two separate elements of each of the members are connectedtogether resiliently.

The insulating handle portion G2 of the G plug can preferably be made ofa distinctive color so that the connection points on the terminal boardquickly stand out to an observer. It should also be noted that the smallcables which are used to connect the K plugs are all arranged so thatthey are connected outside of the crossing D openings of the terminalboard and therefore do not cover any of the D openings. Such is not thecase in the conventional terminal board arrangements using cables.

In a preferred method of making the terminal board arrangement shown inFigs. 1-3, the connecting members B and C are arranged as shown in Fig.5. The B members are shown held spaced from each other by spacers H.Similar spacers are provided for the C members. In this arrangement,core plugs l as shown in Fig. 6 are inserted at each crossing point ofthe B and C members as shown in the central unit of Fig. 5. The moldingcore pins I are provided with four angularly spaced grooves 11-14, eachof which cooperate respectively with one of the connecting elements ofthe B and C members. 'I'hat is two of the grooves I1 and I3, forexample, coopcrate with the elements 111 of the C member and the groovesI2 and I4 cooperate with the elements 110 of the crossing B member.

After all the core pins I have been inserted corresponding to the properD openings and the spacers H have been set up to maintain the IB and Cmembers in electrically insulating relationship, the entire unit, whichhas been thus assembled in the casting mold, is surrounded bysolidiiiable insulating material in iiowable form. The insulatingmaterial is introduced into the casting mold and surrounds the variousconducting B and C members. After the material hardens, the core plugs Iand the spacers H are removed. The D openings are left by the core plugsI.

It should be noted that each of the B members is provided at oppositeends thereof with small connecting holes B0 and the =C members areprovided at opposite ends thereof with small connecting holes C0. It istherefore possible to make electrical connection to each of the B and Cmembers, separately, without making any electrical contact with theother connecting members; Thus, electrical connections, such as forexample, conductors z1, z2 and z3, may connect selected ones of the Band `C members to the external circuit; the conductor' Z1 beingconnected to one of the holes B0, the conductor z2 being connected toanother of the holes B0 and the conductor z3 being connected to one ofthe holes C0.

It is apparent that the spacers H which are preferably made of rubber,keep the yconnecting holes B0 and C0 clear during the molding operation.

After the molding operation, the front face of the entire terminal boardarrangement can be milled so as to be planar to present a smooth frontface which can be mounted in an appropriate manner.

It can be seen that with the arrangement illustrated inthe drawings ofthe present application, the various electrical connections can beeasily and quickly changed by inserting or removing the G plugs or byconnecting the cables with the K plugs therein. All the connections thatare made are readily apparent since the G plugs are never covered by thehanging cables. By properly marking each of the openings on the terminalboard face, the proper D opening is quickly found regardless of theparticular connection to be made.

It is also clear that it is not absolutely necessary that the various Band `C conducting members be -arranged in the regular rectangular gridpattern shown but can be replaced by a similar arrangement which mightconsist of a number of concentric circles with crossing radii, forexample. In -addition the parallel B :members could cross the parallel Cmembers at some angle other than if desired.

It will be understood that each of the elements described above, o'r twoor more together, may also iind a useful application in other types ofterminal board arrangements and methods for making the same diieringfrom the types described above.

While the invention has been illustrated and described as embodied interminal boards particularly useful for analogue computers and the like,it is not intended to be limited to the details shown, since variousmodiiications and structural changes may be made ywithout departing inany way from the spirit of the present invention.

What is claimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

1. In a terminal board arrangement for permitting interconnectionsbetween diierent conductive elements, in combination, a base member madeof `an electrically insulating material; at least a Ifirst electricallyconductive elongated connecting member arranged on said base member andextending in a first direction, said connecting member having aplurality of spaced contact ngers having confronting transverse edges;at least a second electrically conductive connecting member arranged onsaid base member extending in a second direction and crossing said rstconnecting member between parallel planes without contacting the same,said second electrically conductive member having a plurality of spacedcontact fingers having confronting transverse edges, the contact iingersof said iirst and second connecting members being located betweenparallel planes and extending in the same direction; and a plug adaptedto be inserted in the space between said transverse confronting edges ofsaid rst and second contact fingers so that said first and secondconnecting members may be electrically connected to each other byinsertion of said plug. l 2. In a terminal board arrangement forpermitting interconnections between diiferent conductive elements, incombination, a base member made of an electrically insulating materialand being formed with a plurality o f openings therein; at least a rstelectrically conductive elongated planar connecting member arranged onsaid base member and extending in a first direction, said iirstconnecting member having a plurality of spaced contact fingers, each ofwhich communicates respectively with at least one of the openings ofsaid base member; and at least a second electrically conductiveelongatedV planar connecting member arranged on said base mem-berextending in a second direction and crossing said rst connecting memberwithout contacting the same, said second electrically conductive memberhaving ra plurality o'f spaced contact fingers extending in the samedirection as the contact lingers of said first connecting member, eachof which communicates respectively with at least one ofthe openings ofsaid base member whereby contact lingers of said rst and secondconnecting members are 4located between parallel planes in the sameopening of said terminal board so that said iirst and second connectingmembers can be electrically connected to each other in said sameopening.

3. In a terminal board arrangement for permitting interconnectionsbetween different conductive elements, in combination, a base membermade of an electrically insulating material and being formed with aplurality of spaced openings therein located between parallel planes; atleast a first electrically conductive elongated connecting memberarranged on said base member and extending in a first direction, saidfirst connecting member having a plurality of spaced contact ngersarranged in pairs, each of said lpairs being located in one of saidopenings respectively; and at least a second electrically conductiveelongated connecting member arranged Von said base member extending in asecond direction `and cross-V located in one of said openingsrespectively whereby pairsV of contact vfingers of said first and secondconnecting members are located between said parallel planes in the sameopening of said 'terminal board so that said iirst and second connectingmembers can be electrically connected to each other in said same opening4. In a terminal board arrangement for permitting in-Y terconnectionsbetween diierent conductive elements, incombination, a base member-madeof an electrically insulating material and being formed with a pluralityo'f openings therein located between parallel planes; at least a firstelectrically conductive elongated planar connecting member arranged onsaid base member and extending in a iirst direction, said connectingmember having a plurality of spaced finger-like connectingelemen'ts,each of which extends in a direction substantially transverse to saidfirst direction and is located in one of the openings of 'saidbasemember; and at least a second electrically conductive elongated .planarconnecting member arranged on said base member extending in a seco'nddirectionY and Vcrossing said iirst connecting member without contactingthe same, said second electrically Vconductive member having a pluralityof spaced finger-like connecting elements extending in the samedirection as the finger-like connecting elements of said firstconnecting member, each of which extends in a direction substantiallytransverse to said second direction and is located in one of the open-Vings of said base member whereby connecting elements of `said first andsecond connecting members are located between said parallel planes rinthe same opening of :said terminal 'board so that said iirst vand secondconnecting members can be electrically connected 4to each other` in thesame opening. f Y

5. In a terminal board arrangementfor permitting interconnectionsbetween -diflerentrconductive members, in combination, a base membermade of an electrically insulating material Vand being -forrned Vwithla'plui'ality of openings therein, said openings being ,arranged in firstparallel planes and located respectively in a different group of saidplurality of openings arranged in said first direction; and a pluralityof second electrically con- -ductive connecting members arranged on saidbase member spaced from each other, each of said second connectingmembers being electrically insulated from the others and crossing overeach of said plurality of iirst connecting members without contactingthe 'same and having linger-type portions extending between saidparallel planes in the same direction as the finger-type portions ofsaid first connecting members and located respectively in a differentgroup of said plurality of openings arranged in said second directionwhereby eac'h of Asaid first and second connecting members have portionsextending between said parallel planes in the same opening of saidterminal board so that each of said first connecting members can beelectrically connected to each of said second connecting members at saidrespective openings where said first and second connecting members haveportions in the same opening. Y

6. In a terminal board arrangement for permitting interconnectionsbetween different conductive members, in combination, a base member madeof an electrically insulating material and being formed with a pluralityof openings therein, said openings being arranged in first and seconddirections; a plurality of iirst electricallyl conductive planarconnecting members arranged on said base member spaced Ifrom andsubstantially parallel to each other, each of said rst connectingmembers being electrically insulated from the others and havingfingertype portions extending between parallel planes and located in adifferent group of said plurality of openings arranged in said firstdirection; and a plurality of second electrically conductive planarconnecting members arranged on said base member spaced from andsubstantially parallel to each other, each of said second connectingmembers being electrically insulated from the others and crossing overeach of said plurality of lirst connecting members without contactingthe same and having finger-type portions extending between said parallelplanes in the same direction as the finger-type portions of said iirstconnecting members and located in a different group of said plurality ofopenings arranged in'said second direction whereby each of said firstand second connecting members have portions extending between saidparallel planes located in the same opening :of said Vterminal board sothat each of said iirst connecting members can be electrically connectedto each of said second connecting members at said respective openingswhere said first and second connecting members have port-ions in the tsame opening.

7. In a terminal board arrangement for permitting in-V terconnectionsbetween different conductive members, in combination, a base member madeof -an electrically insulating material and being formed with aplurality of openings therein located between parallel planes, saidopenings being arranged in first and second Vvdirections substantiallytransverse to each other; a plurality of iirst electrically conductiveconnecting members arranged on said base member spaced from eachother,each of said first connecting members being electrically insulated Yfromthe others and having linger-type portions extending between saidparallel planes and located in a group of said plurality of openingsrarranged in said first direction; and Va plurality `of secondelectrically conductive connecting members arranged on said base memberspaced from each other, each of said second connecting members,

tions extending between said parallel planes in the same direction asthe nger-type portions of said rst connecting members and located in adifferent group of said plurality of openings `arranged in said seconddirection whereby each of said irst and second connecting members haveportions extending between said parallel planes located in the sameopening of said terminal board so that each of said tirst connectingmembers can be electrically connected to each of said second connectingmembers at said respective openings where said `trst and secondconnecting members have portions in the same opening.

8. In a terminal board arrangement for permitting interconnectionsbetween different conductive members, in combination, a base member madeof an electrically insulating material and being formed with a pluralityof openings therein, said openings being arranged in rst and seconddirections; a plurality of first electrically conductive connectingmembers arranged on said base member spaced from each other, each ofsaid iirst connecting members being electrically insulated from theothers and having finger-type portions extending between parallel planesand located respectively in a different group of said plurality `ofopenings arranged in said first direction; and a plurality of secondelectrically conductive connecting members arranged on said base memberspaced from each other, each of said second connecting members beingelectrically insulated from the others and crossing over each of saidplurality of lirst connecting members without contacting the same andhaving finger-type portions extending between said parallel planes inthe same direction as the finger-type portions of said rst connectingmembers and vlocated respectively in a dierent group of said pluralityof openings arranged in said second direction, said rst and secondconnecting members being arranged with respect to said openings so thatsaid first connecting members each have portions in respectively atleast one additional opening whereby each of said rst and secondconnecting members have portions extending between said parallel planeslocated in the same opening of said terminal board thereby permittingeach of said first connecting members to be electrically connected toeac-h of said second connecting members at said respective openingswhere said first and second connecting members have portions in the sameopening and permitting said rst connecting members to be electricallyconnected to each `other by means of said additional openings.

9. Apparatus as claimed in claim 5, wherein each of said portionsincludes a pair of nger-like connecting elements spaced from each otherin the respective openings.

l0. Apparatus as claimed in claim 8, wherein each of said portionsincludes a pair of vfinger-like connecting elements spaced from eachother in the respective Openings.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS231,708 Gilliland Aug. 31, 1880 920,614 McBerty May 4, 1909 1,726,745Kulka Sept. 3, 1929 2,467,727 Brown Apr. 19, 1949 2,483,551 Libman Oct.4, 1949 2,613,287 Geiger Oct. 7, 1952 2,670,530 Regnier M-ar. 2, 1954FOREIGN PATENTS 593,296 Great Britain Oct. 14, 1947 750,244 GreatBritain June 13, 1956 818,211 Germany Oct. 22, 19511

